title: Characterizing the sexual abuse experiences of young adolescents.
abstract: The purpose of this descriptive study was to: (a) compare the demographics of maltreated youth initially labeled as sexually abused by the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to maltreated youth classified as sexually abused using current and past case records, (b) identify differences in sexual abuse experiences and types of perpetrators between boys and girls, and (c) provide a detailed description of the sexual abuse experiences for boys and girls. Participants were youth ages 9-12 years old with a recent maltreatment allegation. The Maltreatment Case Record Abstraction Instrument (MCRAI) was used to code child welfare records of 303 maltreated youth of whom 60 experienced sexual abuse. Perpetrators were classified by gender into four categories (biological parent, parental figure, relative, and unrelated) and type of abuse was classified into three categories (penetrative, contact without penetration, and non-contact). Using Chi-Square tests, perpetrator categories and sexual abuse types were compared by child gender for significant differences. Only 23 (38.3%) of the 60 sexually abused youth were labeled as sexually abused in the most recent DCFS report when they entered the study. About three-quarters of the sexually abused youth experienced non-penetrative physical contact, 40% experienced penetration, and 15% experienced sexual abuse without physical contact. Most youth (91.7%) were victimized by a male, and 21.7% were abused by a female. Youth experienced a large range of sexual abuse experiences, the details of which may be important for exploration of consequences of childhood sexual abuse.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, School of Social Work, 669 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Negriff
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, School of Social Work, 669 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Janet U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Schneiderman
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, 3220 McClintock Avenue/SGM 501, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, School of Social Work, 669 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Justine K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Schreyer
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, School of Social Work, 669 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Penelope K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Trickett
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Case record abstraction; Maltreatment; Perpetrator; Sexual abuse